Never Asked For Nothing
by Mindscape-Mine
Summary: A crossover between Ranma and Oh! My Goddess, based mainly within the OMG universe, but focussed on Ranma. By definition, an AU and crossover. Updates based on inspiration.
1. The Omega and the Alpha

::Thirty Seconds To Process End Time::  
  
Deep within the cybernetic void of the Yggdrasil computer system, a process was quickly finishing its run and approaching death. The process had been running for many millennia, and having been missed by various system upgrades and beta testers, it was one of the oldest components to the system within which it resided.  
  
::Twenty Seconds To Process End Time::  
  
Some would question the nature of this process. It did not register as computer code, nor was it an identifiable entity or a bug that was spinning throughout the eons. Its trace signature was fleetingly synthetic, and equally angelic, demonic, and mortal. Mostly, however, it had no signature. It merely ran, leaking bits of output into the memory banks around it and causing unnoticeable hindrance or assistance to anything.  
  
::Ten Seconds To Process End Time::  
  
As it continued its blind mission, the rest of the multiverse functioned as it always had, unaware and uncaring of the dying process, and the process, likewise, cared and knew nothing of the multiverse. There was sanguine beauty in the reciprocated ignorance… had there been anyone or anything to appreciate it.  
  
::Process End Time Reached. Reload Process? Time: 5 Answer: Y/N::  
  
With the cessation of the process minor anomalies appeared. Since minor anomalies occurred within the system regularly, nothing was though of it. The System Administrators and Operators saw nothing truly amiss, and left well enough alone.  
  
::Process End Time Reached. Reload Process? Time: 4 Answer: Y/N::  
  
Some beings, sensitive to such things, felt minor discomfort. Others felt a burning agony. Most felt nothing whatsoever.  
  
::Process End Time Reached. Reload Process? Time 3 Answer: Y/N::  
  
Those that felt discomfort quickly shook it off. The rest were not so lucky. Hundreds perished for inexplicable reasons. Most felt nothing whatsoever.  
  
::Process End Time Reached. Reload Process? Time 2 Answer: Y/N::  
  
A young man tossed the bed coverings from his sleeping body. His agitation was clearly related to some unconscious stimulus. His moaning was largely unintelligible, however occasional words were snatched from his lips.  
  
::Process End Time Reached. Reload Process? Time 1 Answer: Y/N::  
  
An observer with sharp eyes and quick ears could observe a shift in both the tone of the mutterings and the shape of the body from which they emerged. The voice alternated between the masculine and the feminine, exactly in accordance with the physical shifts of a similar nature.  
  
::Process End Time Reached. Reload Process? Time 0 Answer Y/N::  
  
As the body shifted to the female, cold blue eyes the shade of polar lakes flashed open. In a voice devoid of emotion, the red-headed woman spoke to the darkness that surrounded her.  
  
"Reload Process command, confirm."  
  
::Process Reload Accepted. Twenty-Four Hours Until Process Reload::  
  
The girl rolled over and returned to sleep. She dreamt no more, and her rest was peaceful. 


	2. First Contact

A telephone rang.  
  
Normally such an occurrence would not be cause for disconcertion. The bleary-eyed girl vaguely understood this as her surrounding slowly focused around her.  
  
The noise repeated itself.  
  
Rising to her feet, the girl was once again put off by the change in mass and center of gravity. Movement after an unexpected change was graceless at best and impossible at worst. As the bed coverings pooled around her feet, the girl took stock of her surroundings and slowly remembered where she was.  
  
The noise repeated itself.  
  
Glancing around bemusedly, the girl noted many trees, a chilly mist that hung close to the ground, and a mountain range stretching off into the distance. Also, she noted a panda sleeping near where she was standing.  
  
The noise repeated itself.  
  
Finally, the disconcertion was made understandable. Such civilized sounds should not be heard in such primal places. Curious, the girl made off towards what she thought was the source of the noise.  
  
The panda slept on.  
  
-------  
  
About five hundred feet from the campsite the girl knelt and retrieved a cell phone from beneath a clump of wet leaves. Looking at it intently, the girl began to wonder at how it had come to be in such a remote location.  
  
The noise repeated itself.  
  
Puzzled, she flipped open the phone and placed it alongside her head.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Ranma? Ranma is that you?" A distraught female voice called to the red-head over the phone's speaker.  
  
Ranma looked at the phone, bewildered. "Yeah, it's me. Who are you?"  
  
"No time! Just don't be scared and listen to everything you're told within the next few minutes. Everything-- oh shit!"  
  
The line went dead.  
  
Ranma was vaguely worried for the person on the other end of the phone, but there was nothing she could do. While turning back towards the campsite, a puddle caught her eye. "Something's odd about that puddle," she thought. A moment later she was proven correct as the puddle bubbled, rippled, and glowed, finally ejecting a young girl with odd markings adorning her face. She looked around urgently. Eyes falling on the young martial artist, the strange girl exclaimed "Ranma! Quickly, there isn't time for you to waste. Get over here!"  
  
Ranma felt an odd sort of sincerity and authority from the raven-haired child. Wonderingly, she didn't balk at being told what to do and instead dashed towards the puddle. "At least my curse can't activate, " she thought dimly as she linked fingers with the odd water-borne girl and drifted into the space between places.  
  
The panda slept on.


	3. Clarity Shaded Opaque

"Belldandy, I got her! Now what?"  
  
"Him. I'm a guy," was the ignored statement from Ranma.  
  
"Hello Ranma. It's a pleasure to meet you," the young woman who was apparently 'Belldandy' sketched a quick bow and smiled self-consciously. "I do, however, wish it could be under better circumstances and in less stressful times."  
  
"Um, what exactly is going on?" Ranma was bewildered and attempting to keep pace. Unfortunately, the fact that she had just woken up kept her from full use of her faculties.  
  
"I promise, everything will be made known to you later," Belldandy shifted nervously. "Please follow me. You are in great danger, and you mustn't perish."  
  
"Erm… good idea," was the muttered reply as she was led outdoors to where another woman was tracing a geometric design onto the ground.  
  
"Urd, is that rune ready yet?" Belldandy called from the porch.  
  
"Of course," said a voice Ranma recognized as belonging to the mysterious person from the cell phone. Green eyes flashed upwards. "Ranma, you need to stand in the middle of this circle. It will transport you to the heavens where you'll be safe until we figure this thing out."  
  
"Figure what out?" Ranma asked, balking.  
  
"There's no time to explain right now! Just do as your told and everything will be explained later!"   
  
"No way. I ain't going anywhere or standing in no magic circle until I get some answers," Ranma declared, her agitation causing a decline in her grammar.  
  
"I told you, we don't have time--" Urd stopped suddenly as Ranma's eyes rolled backwards and the rest of her pitched forwards. "Oh crap! She's--"  
  
"She's fine, Urd." Skuld stepped forward and dragged the girl to the center of the circle. "Belldandy knocked her out."  
  
A sheepish Belldandy responded to her older sister's inquisitive look with a shrug. "We really don't have time. I'm sure Ranma will forgive me once everything is made clear."  
  
Nodding slowly, the eldest Norn recited an incantation. A pillar of holy light sprung up from the ground. A few moments later, it abruptly shut off. The three goddesses quickly retired to the temple to seek their own transportation mediums.  
  
The circle was dispersed by a slight breeze. The temple stood empty.  
  
--  
  
Ranma was already flipping to her feet before her eyes had fully opened. She snapped into a defensive stance reflexively, and belatedly took stock of her situation.  
  
"Honestly," she mused, glancing around. "This place needs some color."  
  
Endless, featureless white stretched in all directions. The monotony was broken only by a small TV, a handheld mirror, and a teacup full of water. A soft whine filled the air as the three apparatuses glowed and the sisters stepped through. As abruptly as the girls appeared, their mediums vanished.  
  
"Welcome," Urd stated with a broad sweep of her arm, "to the heavens! Home of the gods and goddesses from time immemorial!"  
  
Taking in Ranma's decidedly unimpressed expression, Skuld snickered and cut into her sister's introduction. "He's a mortal Urd, remember? He's on probation. He can't see anything!"  
  
Urd sweat-dropped. "I knew that."  
  
Smiling slightly at her sisters' antics, Belldandy turned towards Ranma. "If you'll please follow me, I will take you where you need to go."  
  
"And where exactly is that?"  
  
"Everything will soon be made clear. Please follow me."  
  
"As if I really had a choice," Ranma thought privately as she followed Belldandy through seemingly endless and pointless twists and turns. Eventually, two large oak doors appeared on the horizon. Belldandy and Ranma made a beeline for the doors.  
  
"Once you enter here," Belldandy said as they reached their destination, "I cannot go with you. Be brave of heart and sound of spirit. Good luck, Ranma!"   
  
The doors opened silently. Ranma entered.  
  
--  
  
The room Ranma entered was not exactly what she was expecting.  
  
Although, to be honest, she didn't exactly know what she had been expecting.  
  
The room appeared to be an office. Ash wood was prevalent, from the floor to the bookcases-- even the desk itself was made from this same wood. The size of the desk was incredible, taking up nearly a quarter of the room's huge space. Behind the desk there was what appeared to be an incredibly expensive (and comfortable, Ranma's jaded eye noted) leather chair. Within this chair sat a man of about forty years.  
  
His hair was jet-black, but silvering at the temples. He wore a suit which complemented his broad shoulders and strong facial features. Eyes the same shade as Ranma's own looked up at her when the door opened. As he stood and smiled, he gestured for Ranma to take a seat in the chair opposite the desk. Ranma did so, somewhat nervously.  
  
"Ranma," the man greeted, "I apologize about these circumstances. I assure you, however, that they were necessary."  
  
"About that, I was wondering--"  
  
"I'm sorry Ranma," the man interrupted, "but we don't have much time. I assure you, everything will be made clear." As Ranma clenched his fists and ground his teeth, the man reseated himself and pulled a file from beneath the desk. "You're Ranma Saotome, age sixteen. Born to Genma and Nodoka Saotome, Juuban General Hospital. Left on a martial arts training trip at the age of six, raised in the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. I understand that you are quite adept at your Art?" A curt nod answered his question. "Of course." Looking back at the contents of the file, the man continued. "Entered the cursed training grounds known as Jusenkyo, fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl," a glance of the top of the folder as though to reassure himself of the fact, "and thereafter contacted by the goddess Urd." The man stood and began to pace around the office.  
  
"Ranma, you are here because an unauthorized entity penetrated the security protocols of the World Computer system, Yggdrasil, approximately sixteen hours ago. The entity restarted a process that had been near the end of its run-time. Nobody knows exactly what this process does. It has been here since time immemorial." Taking a deep breath and turning around suddenly, the man caught Ranma's eye with his own gaze. "The invading entity's signature matched your own." At the girl's vehement denials, the man simply shrugged. "How you are able to do this, nobody knows. But the fact is that somehow, you did do this. The process is set to begin again in eight hours. Hopefully, it will continue to be harmless." Having made a full circuit of the office, the man reclaimed his seat and leaned back wearily. "Do you have any questions for me?"  
  
Ranma jumped to her feet. "Yeah I got questions for you! Who do you think you are kidnapping me like this? How can you think that I did this geeky stuff when I don't know nothing about computers? I ain't exactly had things 'made clear' for me yet. Also, why do those three girls out there keep tryin' to protect me? I can take care of myself!" Ranma's face was nearly the color of her hair. "You better start answerin', 'cause I'm done listenin'."  
  
The man eyed the young beauty for a moment. "I have many names… you may call me Odin. I have already answered your question concerning your ability to bypass the security protocols. We don't know. The fact that your unique signature was attached to the process is irrevocable proof that somehow, you did do this. I assume my daughters," at the look of surprise on Ranma's face Odin nodded. "Yes, my daughters. Urd, Goddess of the Past, Belldandy, Goddess of the Present, and Skuld, Goddess of the Future." At the look of further surprise on Ranma's face, Odin scowled. "Didn't they introduce themselves or anything? I swear, you try to teach manners to children these days and the next thing you know…" he trailed off. "Anyway," he resumed after a breath, "I'd assume that they are attempting to protect you because they are unaware of your extraordinary martial prowess. You are, of course, currently the top target for nearly every demon in the Orient." Odin wondered vaguely if Ranma's face would be forever etched in a look of shock. "A mortal that is corruptible and able to access Yggdrasil? There's probably a bounty on your head millions of souls high." Looking at his watch, Odin sighed. "That's all I have for you today. Stay with my daughters until this thing is sorted out. They should be able to protect you."  
  
"I don't need protecting from a bunch of girls," was Ranma's automatic reply.  
  
"Of course not," Odin grinned widely. "But these are goddesses we're talking about, not mere mortal females. Also," the grin expanded, "might I suggest you curb your chauvinistic attitude while possessing the body of that you would seek to oppress?"  
  
"Um… sure?"  
  
"Good. You may leave now. Good luck, Ranma." 


	4. Daily Training

Dinner that night was a largely subdued affair, the only excitement occurring when Urd spilled some tea on Ranma, returning him to his male form. "The one good thing about goddesses," Ranma reflected as he prepared for bed, "is that they don't take too much convincing when it comes to magical stuff." All throughout dinner there was talk of someone named Keiichi, although each of the three girls had seemingly different feelings towards the man. When they were questioned about his location, Ranma discovered that Keiichi was studying late at a friends house.  
  
Something like that seemed strange to Ranma. After spending nearly his entire life devoted to becoming a martial artist, he was having difficulty wrapping his mind around the concept that some people could actually enjoy school (and math. Didn't engineers use a lot of math?) enough to willingly study.  
  
After preparing the futon that had been set out for him in one of the spare rooms, Ranma realized that he had neglected to train due to the hectic nature of the day's events. Although it was getting late, Ranma realized that the path of a true martial artist required discipline and constant practice. (As to why this piece of advice took on the tonal inflections of his father, he really couldn't say.)  
  
Deciding that a bit of meditation would be appropriate (a section of his training that he underwent secretly since his father and the last martial arts master they had trained with had differing viewpoints on the subject.) Ranma walked into the back yard and stood in a relaxed pose, hands at the sides, chin down, and feet shoulder width apart.  
  
He breathed deeply and slowly, the air filling him with energy and expelling contaminants from his system. He slowly raised his chin and opened his eyes. All of the soul seemed to be missing from those eyes. Instead of reflecting stormy skies, they took on the sheen of gunmetal. When he spoke, his voice commanded attention, although it was neither loud nor particularly musical. It merely rang with truthful conviction. The three goddesses wandered over towards the back doors and stood upon the porch, watching as Ranma stared across the yard with unseeing eyes and began his meditation.  
  
Slow, graceful movements flowed across the yard, the young martial artist appearing to dance over the grass. A nearly imperceptible glow began to form around him, a faintly luminescent blue-tinted corona that steadily grew until it was plainly visible. Skuld gasped in mild astonishment. As if this were a signal, Ranma spoke to the empty air.  
  
"A martial artist possesses many abilities and talents that other people do not. It is the martial artist's sworn duty to protect the weak and bring justice to the wicked through the use of these talents. Should a martial artist ever fail in his duty, he becomes dishonored."  
  
Ranma moved swiftly and suddenly into a relaxed pose facing his impromptu audience. "To a martial artist," Ranma continued, "honor is everything. When one is without food, shelter, friends, or direction, then he can continue to rely upon his duty, and his own strength in upholding it." Turning a half-circle in a split second, Ranma pushed his hands forward in the motion of a palm strike. With a shout, the energy surrounding him flared into stark brightness and reality.  
  
"Ki is the living energy of all things. It can be used as a weapon or a shield. It can bring pain or a relief from suffering. It can be controlled and focused for best effect. My ki is me, and I am my ki." The corona intensified and began to swirl around the young man. Bits of dirt and small twigs began to be lifted into the air.  
  
The effort and concentration this display of power required of Ranma was not lost upon the three goddesses. Sweat pored in a steady stream down his face, and his eyes had slipped shut in an effort to curb the power to his will.  
  
The trinity standing on the porch were completely silent. It would take only a single break in concentration to wreak havoc upon the balancing act Ranma was performing with his life force.  
  
That break was heralded by a sudden and unexpected, "What the heck?!" from Keiichi Morisato.  
  
Ranma's head snapped towards the sound, his eyes glowing white-blue as the energy within him demanded release. Keiichi, having developed a sort of sixth sense for oddity during his time with the goddesses, immediately dropped his books and flung himself aside and to the ground. A split second later, ki arced between a nearby tree and the ground in a circle with Ranma as its epicenter. Keiichi's landing place cleared the edge of the circle by a matter of inches.  
  
The tree smoked for a moment, and then disintegrated into a soft pile of ashes.  
  
Ranma grinned apologetically, went to raise his arm behind his head, and instead passed out.  
  
The Skuld and Urd rushed to Ranma's prone body. Belldandy ran towards Keiichi. "Um… what…?" were the only words that the new arrival could articulate. Belldandy held him for a moment and then shook her head. "It's a bit of a long story…"

==

NOTE:

I don't usually do notes, but I felt that this was somewhat necessary. I have been listening to my reviewers' requests for longer chapters. Unfortunately, I am at an impasse in my writing. This seemed like a natural story break, and serves to give you all another piece of the story while allowing me some more time to work out the snags on this damnable chapter. --MM


End file.
